Protest in Acre against expulsion and Judaisation

The city of Acre to the north of Haifa, and particularly the old city, is being subjected to a fierce Judaisation campaign aiming to eliminate its Arab residents as well as change its Arab Palestinian features and city names that have been used throughout history.

From time to time, the city and its Arab residents are faced with a new plan or project in the context of the Judaisation-transfer plan. These efforts aim to suffocate the city’s residents and drive them out of their houses.

The Acre Development Company and the Amidar Company have been in control of the houses and property in the city since the Nakba. These properties were seized through Israel’s passage of a series of Absentee Property Laws, which enabled the new Jewish state to control the property of the Palestinians who had been displaced from their homes. These property laws also cover realty and the Islamic Waqf property.

The most recent effort to Judaise Acre through a series of expulsions is the case of Khan Al-Umdan, which is registered to the Islamic Waqf. It was seized by the Israeli authorities through twisted and illegal methods, and is now up for sale in a public auction.

In the nearby neighbourhood of Khan Al-Shuna, 36 families from Acre are being threatened with evacuation and expulsion, as the authorities linked buying Khan Al-Umdan to evacuating the Acre families, who are now being subjected to the temptations and pressures of many parties to agree to leave their homes.

During a meeting held on Saturday in Al-Jazzar Mosque in Acre, attended by both local and Qatari groups including the Khan Al-Shuna Council, the Local Acre Residents and Organisations Council, Al-Mezan Centre and Adaleh Centre for Human Rights, and with the blessing of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel and the Qatari National Arab Leaders Authority Council in Israel, the attendees decided to develop a programme to confront the latest expulsion plan by taking a series of measures and organising acts of protests, including one on Saturday, 4 January 2014 at 12 pm at Acre harbour.

Moreover, Adaleh and Al-Mezan have been charged with continuing the legal process and taking all the necessary steps to stop the sale of Khan Al-Umdan and the displacement and expulsion of the surrounding residents.

The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab citizens of Israel urges the Arab masses to participate in this protest. The Committee also calls on the Arab masses to participate in the “Resolve” protest that will be organised by the Committee in the Negev on Thursday, 9 January 2014 in front of the Bedouin Resettlement Authority in Beer Al-Sabea.

Source: Pls48